Poverty in Malawi has worn many faces, manifesting itself in such things as hunger, poor housing, limited schooling and cycles of vulnerability intensified by economic volatility and climate shocks.
In rural districts such as Kasungu, these issues have been more pronounced, with families relying heavily on seasonal farming and irregular piecework to survive.
A case in point is that of 35-year-old Estere Zimba of Ndeule Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chisikwa, who has lived a life defined by hardships.
As the second wife in a polygamous family, she bore much of the responsibility of raising her five children. Her husband and the family’s breadwinner lived elsewhere, leaving Zimba and her children in a makeshift house barely strong enough to withstand a normal rainy season.
“When the rains came, I would spend the whole night moving my children from one corner of the house to another.
“Nothing was safe; from our clothes, our food to everything, got wet,” she says.
Her struggle for shelter mirrored her daily struggle for food. To feed her children, she relied on piecework, making ridges, weeding gardens, or fetching firewood for others and on a bad day, she returned home empty-handed.
Victor Manda, 29, from Group Village Head Jakapo, under the same T/A, narrates a similar story of his life, which has been generally a struggle for survival.
For years, Manda and his family of four lived from hand-to-mouth, relying on piecework that offered neither predictability nor hope.
“There were days I wanted to start something, maybe farming or trading, but I had no capital. Every tambala I earned went to food,” he says.
These stories were only a glimpse into a much larger reality whereby across the district, poverty was widespread and deeply entrenched, affecting thousands of families in similar ways.
As the cost of living kept rising and food insecurity tightened its grip, households faced the same pattern of hardship like leaking grass-thatched homes, chronic food shortages, limited access to education, malnutrition and a reliance on unpredictable piecework for survival and thus, many struggled to meet even their most basic needs.
Equally, the households lacked a reliable source of loans that could afford them capital to start businesses and drive out poverty once and for all.
Luckily, Manda, Zimba and 19 407 others, were identified as candidates for the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) which became their first step out of desperation as it brought regular monthly stipends to ease their financial pressures.
Implemented by the Government of Malawi through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) and the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare with support from the World Bank, the programme targets ultra-poor households that are labour-constrained and cannot adequately support themselves.
For Zimba, she quickly realised that if she wanted lasting change, she needed to invest the money wisely and; therefore, joined a village and loans saving (VSL) group. For the first time in her life, she could access a decent loan.
“With my first loan, I bought fertiliser and planted maize. It was the first season in many years that I harvested enough to feed my children,” she says.
She didn’t stop there. With additional loans, she bought goats that would become a lifeline in emergencies.
Though hyenas from the nearby Chimaliro Forest Reserve occasionally attacked her flock, she refused to give up.
With profits realised from her savings, Zimba also ventured into small businesses, selling tomatoes and kitchen utensils in her community.
Gradually, her savings grew such that last year, after careful budgeting and discipline, she raised over K1 million which she used to start constructing a house. With more resources generated through her businesses, the house is now almost complete.
“I used to dream of sleeping in a decent house. Now that dream has come true, and I feel safe. My children feel safe, too,” she says.
Equally, when Manda became an SCTP beneficiary, he immediately went into Irish potato farming, a market he knew had great potential. The profits surprised him.
“I made enough to buy fertiliser for my maize field. Then I reinvested again,” he says.
Like Zimba, Manda joined a VSLs group. Through it, he accessed additional loans that allowed him to diversify into vegetable farming, notably cabbage, along Lodjwa River, where he realised over 1 000 heads this dry season.
“This December, I expect to make up to K2 million from the sale of the cabbages. The money will help to fund our rain-fed farming so we can produce even more,” he says.
Manda declares that for his four-member household, poverty is no longer a permanent state, but something he is steadily overcoming.
“My family is changing. We can afford good food and we are moving forward,” he adds.
Some beneficiary households like that of Dominic Mwale of Kapondo Village in T/A Kaluluma have taken a different but strategic approach.
Together with his wife, Mwale invested in goats in a journey that started with one animal.
“We have eight, and the number is expected to grow. The goats are not only a source of manure and nutrition but also an economic safety net because we sometimes sell some to pay school fees, hospital bills or buy farm inputs.
“With the goats, we know we have something to fall back on. It gives us peace,” he says.
According to Kasungu District principal social welfare officer Given Mukisi, the SCTP is a programme that is delivering real change in the district’s communities.
“The main goal is to reduce poverty, improve school enrolment and improve nutrition. We are seeing improvements in all these areas,” Mukisi says.
She says the district started implementing the programme in 2017 with 17 176 beneficiaries before increasing the number 19 409.
“Through the programme, people have built proper houses, buy livestock, start businesses and send children to school,” she notes. “I can confidently say here that even nutrition levels have significantly improved.”
Mukisi credits much of this progress to the integration of Community Savings and Investment Promotion trainings in financial literacy, business management and VSL methodologies that empower beneficiaries to grow beyond the stipends.
Since its rolling out in the district in 2017, the programme has disbursed over K12 billion.
“But the real strength is in how people are using the money – investing, saving and building resilience. As a district, we are on the right track and we expect to register more success,” Mukisi says.
As the country continues to face economic pressures and climate-related shocks, the SCTP stands out as a beacon of hope for vulnerable households, giving them choices, opportunities and the power to shape their economic future.
Its impact, therefore, goes far beyond individual success but represents a lifeline for an entire district striving to break free from generations of deprivation.
